Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Today is a beautiful day out. Lots of sun coming into the room. I was going to work on the magazine project when I realized my project didn't fall within the guidelines. So now to come up with a new idea. I'm still going to make a hankerchief holder. Last night I used a silk ribbon iron on pattern on a cream colored satin for the holders cover. It is going to be lovely. I will try and take pictures showing how it was done and put it up here on my blog.

Monday, January 24, 2011

I have been saying that a lot lately because this is what my life feels lke. I feel very undefined in my current state. Getting ready to open an Etsy store by Feb1st and I still need items to put in the store. Also trying to make a Feb 15th deadline on some magazine entries! I need to pick my battles carefully here. I am waiting for the mail order of the drug that helps me use my hands so I can do the Etsy pieces. This is going to be a tight race : ) But I know that I will get it done even if it takes hours longer then expected.

After decades of giving away my work now I need to be able to pull together a portfolio. Along with writing a sylabus for teaching crafts. My friends seem interested in the subjects so far. This week I think I will do a smocking example. It is just coming up with a project idea that isn't to big but large enough to be a good practise piece. In February we are going to do a silk ribbon embroidery heart to put in a Valentine card. A little dated but fun! I wouldn't be surprised if a pre-printed fairy showed up in the card design!

I'm just trying to look forward to being more active and accomlishing goals and not letting stress get to me, after all being creative should also be fun!

Monday, January 17, 2011

What a week! I spent a lot of it sorting out my craft books and logging them at Library Thing. Somewhat disappointing there were only 140 craft books, 80 were on needlearts. Shows that I need to buy more books on general crafting. I also ordered online, 7 or 8 new books last week from Dover and the book club I belong to. Everyone is having wonderful 50% sales this month and it is hard to resist.

Then there was a huge sale at Beverly's last week. I bought four great books at 75% off and a demo sewing machine. They even had the empty book boxes on sale and the little paper purses. I met a kindred spirit trying to work out the price on a purple purse at 75% off! I got a large butterfly box and she bought the purse! We had a great time but we went to dinner instead of having a class on whitework on Friday! So I had a teaching reprieve. Really need to get my right hand able to stitch by this Friday. I am still working on a class plan but at least the rest of this month will be whitework and a small diversion into tatting.

Went to the Betty's sale and got a couple of books and some lovely cotton yarn. Then to the magazine store to buy a three magazines I want to submit entries to, Somerset Life, Somerset Studio and Threads. Lee called while I was looking at books and read to me the magazines they had at Barnes and Noble! Double shopping score! He found me Belle Armoire magazine and I am planning to submit at least two projects but the deadline is February 15th so I need to move my butt!

I was really tired after Friday night so I stayed home at worked on the books. There wasn't room to just leave them around in piles so it took some work to get them cataloged. Many of them still need an ex libris put inside them. Lee made a beautiful ex libris label for me we just need to print some more to finish. Then the books get sorted out and reshelved. Then after some more Spring Cleaning I will be cataloging the crocheted and knitted books. Thankfully they are easier to get at and I can catalog them right in the shelf using the laptop. After that I hope to finish cataloging the books for the Santa Maria Valley Crafters. Little steps at a time! The most important thing is to get the craft area sorted out so there is actually space to craft!

So this week is full of doctors appointments unfortunately. But I am also going to a party on Wednesday evening, just us crafters having some fun and Friday night is whitework embroidery. Have to stop blogging to get ready for the oncologists!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Part of what I want to accomplish this year is to add all my books from my private collection to http://www.librarything.com/ and review them. Tonight I found "Beginner's Guide to Bobbin Lace", by Gilian Dye & Adrienne Thunder. It is a wonderful book and has great instructions, pictures and diagrams. However it only teaches the Torchon style of bobbin lace. The difference is Torchon works on a diagonal grid adding fibers when starting the piece. This can be easily be seen in the bookmark lessons. The projects are great, Spring purse, Summer scarf, Summer bag, Autumn cushion, Winter scarf. The Winter scarf is beautiful and a good example of how bobbin lace can be done with any size thread and be beautiful. Great starter book.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

I had a lot of fun this week, a bit rough at times but I was determined to win! Last week focused on getting well and working on a business plan. The goal is to have everthing in place and my Etsy store openned by the end of January! Lee is doing the brain work because the meds make it hard to concentrate for very long.

Yesterday we had fun at Beverly's and I demoed cutting machines and what was good and bad about them. The crocheters were not interested at all. So next Friday we will be having our embroidery get togther we will be learning to do a a very basic white work pattern. Then Linda will help us make the fabric into a pillow case! How cool is hand embroidered bed linens.

While at Beverly's they had a die cut system called the Revolution. It was used for demos and had the long platen and several die-cuts including a Nestibility and came in a great box. I got it for $10! However, I then spent most of Saturday night up trying to learn to use it. Today I will go to Youtube to find some instructions!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Still the cake is being a pain! Yesterday I slept way to much and never got it started! I just couldn't wake up. I even fell asleep standing up yesterday. Some days the medicine I take is hard to manage, I get really silly on the stuff too, sometimes! So I am trying to stay awake today. I see the doctor at 2:40 and plan to see friends at Beverly's after 1:00. I found some craft supplies to give away so I'm looking forward to that.

Last evening I added more books to my librarything account. I was falling asleep while typying in the numbers but now have 31 books added. Now I will mark them with an xlibris and put them back in my personal library. Also need to add my review of the books. Well off to the doctors.

Monday, January 3, 2011

"Easy as a piece of cake"! What a stupid thing to say! Cake is not the easiest thing to make even using a mix! Today I'm getting the stuff together to make a orange spice pecan cake with orange cream cheese frosting. My mom made one for me over 25 years ago and it is time for another! I remember her looking a bit tense because even she didn't make scratch cakes anymore. She never asked me what kind of cake I wanted agan : ) So it is my turn to be a bit tense making a scratch cake. The Joy has a recipe I can adapt so it will only be hard to remember what I've already put in the bowl : )

Today will be cracking the nuts and roasting them for the cake. I also want to decorate the cake but I definately don't have my sisters touch. When in Utah last year I purchased some candy molds. One mold is a set of different types of button molds. Like one set is a flat button and another is a set of pearl buttons. I'm trying to come up with a design idea like making a frosting needle and thread and lots of button on top of the cake. Or maybe frost the cake and then cover it in buttons that make elaborate lace designs. Well it really doesn't matter, it is how it tastes that is important! I am looking forward to the project!.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Happy New Year! The year ended quietly and 2011 started the same way. It is hard to believe that another year is gone. This starts the beginning of my 7th year in remission of breast cancer. I have been a very lucky woman!

This year will start dedicating my time to starting a new career. After nearly a year of rest and exercise at the local gym it is time to start thinking of what I am still able to do. I will not go on permanent disability but it is hard to function and work with the drugs I take to be able to move. So now to see if I can't find someone who needs a talented crafter who can teach. My plan is to make myself a web presence that will help me find some way of putting my talents to use.

I am going to make up a sylabus of what I can teach and a plan of classes. I hope to try and submit these to both the local craft stores and private schools in the area. This will also be a start of a general crafting book I am writing. The major theme in the book is how to do older crafting techniques without spending a lot of money. For instance learning bobbin lace by first making your bobbins out of clothes pins. Adding mostly simple projects for all ages and making a book that is energenic.

For the New Year I have set myself some goals. First to finish a yo-yo quilt for the local fair. Enter one Fire Mountain contest. Enter some magazines "Calls for art". Join the local art guild. Finish learning basic metal working for making jewelry ie. chain mail. Advance my stumpwork techniques and read the book I just bought on the subject. If I can do even some of this it should be an exciting year!